


The Pitfalls of Fame

by sophh



Series: 31 Days of Writing Challenge [16]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 31 Days of Writing Challenge, Breakup, Drinking, Drinny - Freeform, F/M, Firewhiskey, Ministry of Magic Employee Draco Malfoy, Nosy reporter, Original Male Character - Freeform, Quidditch Player Ginny Weasley, Secret Relationship, Some Swearing, Trouble In Paradise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27245758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: Ginny Weasley, famed Quidditch player, has to deal with nosy reporters and the like. She's fairly used to the sordid articles, but what happens when her secret relationship with Draco Malfoy comes to light?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley
Series: 31 Days of Writing Challenge [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945717
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17
Collections: 31 Days of Writing Challenge - Fall 2020





	The Pitfalls of Fame

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 31 Days of Writing Challenge, October 20th: a breakup. 
> 
> Please ignore my horrible attempt at coming up with a paparazzi nickname for Ginny. Actually, as I write this, I wish "The Flying Tomato" wasn't already taken. :P

"Oi, G. Dubs!" 

Ginny Weasley rolled her eyes and gripped the handle of her suitcase more tightly. "G. Dubs" was the unfortunate nickname given to her by the paparazzi, so she wasn't particularly inclined to turn around and face whomever was calling her. But turn around she did, and watched with disgust as Stuart Trowbridge, _Daily Prophet_ reporter, panted his way over to her.

Stuart Trowbridge was an especially annoying thorn in her side. He was young and ambitious, much like Ginny, except that Ginny didn't stick her nose into other people's business for a living. 

She studied him for a moment. He looked tired and harried, likely as a result of being under some sort of deadline. His dark blond hair was stuck out at odd angles and it looked as though he hadn't had a good night's sleep in some time. She would have felt sorry for him if it weren't for the fact that he was always writing ill-informed pieces about her life. He was a bit like Rita Skeeter, actually, but at least Rita's drivel could be entertaining. Trowbridge's, not so much. 

"What do you want now, Trowbridge?" she hissed at the man. "Come to get another quote about the Harpies that you can twist out of proportion?"

He laughed, and Ginny's skin crawled. "No, love, I thought I might be able to ask you about something else. What do you have to say about your involvement with one Draco Malfoy?"

Ginny fought to keep her jaw from hitting the floor, and not because Trowbridge had stumbled upon another piece of fiction about her. For once, he was...absolutely correct. But how had he found out? 

Well aware that her face must be a most unpleasant tomato color, she retorted, "No comment," spun on her heel, and stalked off. 

* * *

_Oh, bugger,_ Ginny thought, staring down at the cover of _The Daily Prophet._ _I've really mucked things up now, and Draco is going to be furious._

A large picture of her face monopolized much of the newspaper's front page. She watched as the black-and-white version of herself scowled, and adopted a similar expression. The headline accompanying the picture read, "G. Dubs: I Have 'No Comment' About My Relationship With Draco Malfoy." 

_Well, I didn't!_ she thought, but she knew that Trowbridge had somehow found a way to make her seemingly innocuous reply into something decidedly worse. She scanned the article quickly and groaned. He had indeed managed to exaggerate her quote by placing it into a completely fabricated context. Trowbridge postulated that perhaps Ginny was bored in her relationship, and that was why she had nothing to say about it. 

_I had nothing to say about it because it's none of your business!_ Ginny felt like screaming. Instead, she slammed the paper down on Draco's kitchen table and went to search the cupboards for the good firewhiskey. 

* * *

Draco was blissfully unaware of the latest _Prophet_ article about his girlfriend, but he _was_ aware of the many others like it, and he didn't care for them one bit. The speculative nonsense just made his blood boil. He sometimes wished that Ginny hadn't pursued such a public career. The scrutiny was exhausting, and it meant that they had to hide their relationship, which was the worst part of all.

He would have loved nothing more than to show Ginny off; she was beautiful and fun and would make the boring Ministry events a hell of a lot more entertaining. But she said that she didn't want the paparazzi to drive them apart, and so they kept the relationship a secret. 

The biggest thing was being careful not to be seen together, because that, of course, would get the media talking. They had developed a number of precautions, such as Apparating directly into and out of each other's homes, but Draco still thought that he had seen someone peering into Ginny's kitchen the other day. He hadn't mentioned it to her, though. She had enough on her plate as it was. 

* * *

"Have you been drinking, Weasley?" Draco asked, eying the half-empty bottle Ginny had left on the table. 

"No," she muttered, raising her head from the arm of the couch slowly. 

"So that bottle just emptied itself of half its contents, did it?" He raised an eyebrow as though daring her to agree. 

She sighed and shook her head, then winced. "I needed a stiff drink...or several. And now my head is killing me."

"I think there's some hangover potion around here somewhere," Draco said. He walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later, waving a small vial at her. "Found some in the medicine cabinet."

He watched as she downed the potion in one gulp. "So, why exactly were you partaking in my most expensive firewhiskey without me? That brand cost me 100 galleons for the bottle."

Ginny rolled her eyes. Her boyfriend still demonstrated his wealthy upbringing from time to time. She didn't actually mind, though. It gave her more to tease him about. "Most people wouldn't highlight its value whilst interrogating me about drinking it, Malfoy. You could have just asked if I was alright, you know."

"Well, maybe it's important that you know how valuable it was." He ducked as Ginny threw a sofa cushion at him. "Fine. Are you alright?" 

"If I can still breathe, I'm fine," she shrugged. 

He sat in the wingback chair across her and frowned. "You still haven't answered my question. Why _were_ you drinking in the first place?"

She steeled herself to meet his gaze, relieved to find concern and not disapproval there. She knew he wouldn't like it if she told him the truth, however, so she fudged things...a little. "I just read an unflattering article about me, that's all." 

Draco's lip curled slightly, and Ginny knew that he wasn't buying her flimsy excuse. "Since when do you let those articles bother you, Weasley?"

Feeling quite grateful that she had thought to Vanish the offending paper, she replied, "Since today, apparently. I've just been under a lot of pressure lately and that's why I took this article so badly. It won't happen again."

When Draco left to take a shower, Ginny groaned. She hated lying to him, but he could be a bit overprotective sometimes. 

* * *

Stuart Trowbridge paced his living room, somewhat agitated. _That Ginny Weasley,_ he fumed. _She keeps things too close to the vest._ He'd had no choice but to warp what she had said. After all, he was under a lot of pressure to churn out articles that would get people buzzing. That was his job, and he took his job _very_ seriously. 

The hot tip had been a welcome surprise, called in by a reliable source (or creepy fan, some might say, but Stuart didn't care so long as she passed him good information) that had been tailing the famous Quidditch player for him. She hadn't been able to get a picture, but she _had_ relayed a damning conversation she overheard between the two as they stood in Ginny's kitchen. 

Already, the article was doing remarkably well. People _cared_ about the private lives of their sports heroes, and of course, the Malfoy-Weasley rivalry was practically legendary. Stuart had already received several pieces of fan mail and a job offer because of the piece. He hoped that his editors might even offer him a raise. _Merlin knows I could use the money,_ he thought, glancing around at his shabby flat with disdain. 

Now that he had stumbled upon what was possibly the best scoop of his entire career thus far, he was determined to milk it for all it was worth. But first, he needed actual proof to keep the momentum going. 

* * *

_The next day:_

"Weasley!" 

Ginny looked up and watched Draco stalk into her living room. She had been sprawled on the couch, relaxing after a grueling practice, but she stood up and crossed to him the moment she saw his irate expression. Draco didn't often show his emotions so plainly, so she knew that he must be really riled up.

"Draco, what's wrong?" She reached out to touch his arm, but he stepped back. 

"What's wrong," he growled, "is that everyone at work kept talking about a certain article that came out yesterday. I don't suppose you'd happen to know what I'm referring to?"

Ginny felt the color drain from her face. "Look, I didn't want it to be a big deal-"

He laughed humorlessly. "I had to hear about it as I made my way to my office, Weasley. And at lunch. Pretty much all fucking _day,_ actually, so I'd say it's a pretty big deal."

"I'm sorry," Ginny said quietly. "I should have been honest with you yesterday."

"You're damn right about that." He sounded hurt rather than angry now. 

Ginny bit her lip. "Draco," she began, placating. 

"You don't get it, Gin. For years, no one trusted me enough to tell me everything. Even after the war...it took a long time to rebuild the trust that had been broken. I thought you were the one person I could count on to tell me the truth. The _whole_ truth." 

Ginny felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach. Sometimes she forgot how much he had suffered, too. 

"You're right," she whispered. "I had no idea."

Draco started to pace. "So what's your plan?"

"Plan?" Ginny repeated blankly. 

"Yes. What are you going to do about this Trowbridge bloke?" 

"Oh. Er..." She twisted a strand of hair around her finger and frowned. 

He stopped and stared down at her. "You do have a plan, don't you?" 

"What do you expect me to do?" Ginny said, her voice a bit sharper than she had intended. "I'm a public figure, and he's doing his job."

"I say you hold a press conference," Draco said, giving a decisive nod. "Tell the world about us. It's better to control the narrative yourself than to have other people make it up for you."

Ginny shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Right now, Trowbridge hasn't provided any proof that we're together, and I still want to keep our relationship private. If we tell everyone about us, they'll feel entitled to all of the details."

An unfamiliar look passed over Draco's face. It took Ginny a moment to realize that it was disappointment. 

"I can't keep doing this, Gin. I'm tired of having to hide from the world. Let me know if you're ever ready to do more than go on 'dates' at each other's houses."

"Draco, I—"

Stunned, Ginny watched as her boyfriend—ex-boyfriend, now, it would seem—strode out of the room. She heard the telltale _pop!_ of Apparition seconds later and knew that he was gone, probably back to his own place. Looking down, she saw that her hands were trembling—meaning she was in no state to try and follow him without the risk of splinching herself. She wasn't used to being dumped, and she especially wasn't used to the end of the relationship being all her fault. It felt peculiar and more than a little crushing. Slowly, she sat back down on the couch, hugged a cushion to her chest, and began to sob.


End file.
